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There is no legal reason the US can’t supply cluster bombs to Ukraine – but that doesn’t justify Biden's decision to do so (theconversation.com)

submitted 1 year ago by alyaza to c/politics

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[–] potpie 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"given how they're practically used..."

You're assuming they will be used in the conventional way instead of, say, breaking out the submunitions to drop individually with drones.

[–] alyaza 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

You’re assuming they will be used in the conventional way instead of, say, breaking out the submunitions to drop individually with drones.

yes, because it's basically a guarantee they will be used in the conventional way even if they're also used for other purposes―the level of trust being assumed here of Ukraine is, respectfully, kind of silly given the extremely well established issues with any usage of these things and the nature of wars. things which "shouldn't" be used get used all the time.

and also: even in the best case scenario here, individually using them is basically a lateral move. the problem with cluster munitions is a very high rate of failure which given their size and number adds up massively over time relative to other munitions―individual usage doesn't really help that, it just slows the problem.